Potato blight

[womble]

I've been thinking about this.

I only grow earlies and harvest them before the blight hits mostly, been doing this for a few years now. I don't grow the maincrops as I don't want to spray with anything.

But then I go and BUY potatoes from the shop/wherever and these are maincrops, so these must have been protected in some way from blight.......

So how do the farmers keep blight away?

It's all a bit academic anyway, as I haven't got the space to grow enough potatoes for us all year round.
But it does feel a bit hypocritical.

[Capsid]

The farmers spray.

[Victoria26]

I'm having a wee experiment this year. Shop bought spuds vs seed spuds. Both have chitted and are going in. Gonna see what kind of crops I get from them. However I'm hoping the blight doesnt ruin them completely!

[piskieinboots]

Also, (surely) they use certified stock, this will help prevent blight.

I'm sure you know this Victoria but do be careful when planting shop bought spuds next to seed - for the very reason of Blight

[womble]

I use certified stock, never stopped me getting blight.

[Victoria26]

I'm planting the shop bought at the front of my house and my real seed spuds at the back of the house. They will be in containers and watched very closely!

Just an experiment!

[piskieinboots]

I use certified stock, never stopped me getting blight.

it must help a little surely?

I'm planting the shop bought at the front of my house and my real seed spuds at the back of the house. They will be in containers and watched very closely!

Just an experiment!

good plan - results please

[womble]

it must help a little surely?

I don't know, maybe someone who knows a little more can tell us.
Does blight lay dormant in potatoes until the right conditions outside tell it to wake up?

[womble]

I can answer my own question apparently, after going on a search. Yes it can lay dormant until it rains.

I don't think I have ever got blight from anything but air passed on. I can see this on the blightwatch map and see it coming towards me, it always coincides with the blight being identified on the map close to me and me getting it.

[-pat m]

A word of caution Victoria Two years ago I got blight big time went through my potatoes and tomatoes and it happened so so quickly. I had some tomatoes 30 meters away from the main crop but they still got infected- checking on the internet apparently I could have carried it on my clothes/ watering can or the dog who follows me around!.
Last year as soon as they had started to mature bang blight again. By coincidence I had purchased a poly tunnel and had planned on moving my veg patch well away. I burnt every thing organic from the old patch and have purchased everything new poles ETC. I really don’t want to go through that again (in fact I have just earthed up the first shoots of this years first earlies) last year all my potatoes and 26 tomato plants ruined. I am in South Lincolnshire so am at high risk anyway but I would say take no chances only use certified stock and if you do carry on with the shop plants treat them as if you are growing them at a biological research facility!
Having said all that I would be interested to in the results

Good Luck
Pat

[tattieman]

To help prevent blight you can spray Dithane 945 weekly when it gets to the time of year that blight strikes your are.
Blight is a spore that can be transmitted in the air and on clothes so can be passed from plot to plot that way aswell.
Best advice if you do not want to spray is to grow earlies or you would have to try Sarpo Mira as a maincrop. Cara, Valor, Markies also have good blight resistance.
The potatoes in the supermarket are sprayed weekly to keep blight away.

[Capsid]

I tried the blight resistant potatoes (Markies, Sarpo) last year and I never got blight on them, although my outdoor tomatoes did succumb. However, I'm not growing them this year because they are too floury and are not good to eat.

[gojiberry]

I agree with capsid on the sarpo varieties, good blight resistant crop but not my cup of tea when it comes to eating. Will stick to the charlotte which I can get in and out before the blight strikes and I love their cooking qualities.

Ian

[womble]

But those of you who don't want to spray, will then go out and buy potatoes from the shops, no?

I'm sure that even organic potatoes must be sprayed with something, copper fungicide I suppose. I think that is still available to organic growers.

I wouldn't want to spray anything, but I'm questioning my stance.

This is an interesting read, not sure of how much relevance it is to us in the uk though.
tomato blight? - Oklahoma Gardening Forum - GardenWeb

[Alice]

There are acres of tatttie fields round here . The farmers spray them for blight then before lifting them they spray all the top foliage with weedkiller so that any blight spores don't get on to the tubers when they're lifted as they wouldn't store. That's what in the shops.